Spearman
The Spearman is a basic Minion which can move to or attack a piece in the space in front of it, or attack a piece two spaces in front of it. Higher level Spearmen gain abilities to change columns and extended attack and movement within its column. + |tip = - }} __TOC__ Strategy: The spearman is the cornerstone of the "spearman rush" strategy, which has 2 or 3 spearmen on the far left/right side, backed by rooks (or harpies), with bishops and ghosts on the other far side. By advancing the spearman towards the opponents weak flanks, an early champion capture is not uncommon, as well as an early promotion. The support provided by the rooks and bishops, relatively low-mid costed champions, allow the spearman rush to be very hard to prevent. Strength: The Spearman's greatest strength is its extended linear range. The Spearman is one of the only four Minions who, at level one, can attack two spaces away, the other three being, the Archer, the Tiger, and the Drake. Unlike unlike the first two however, the space directly in front of the Spearman is not a safe zone, meaning advancing a piece one space forward will not protect it from the Spearman's attack, making evasion notably more difficult, especially for Minions. This two square range of attack makes the Spearman one of the most effective offensive units, able to charge forward and remove most other Minions before they are within range to retaliate, and able to charge through them even if they move directly into it. At a cost of only one, the Spearman is also very efficient. Finally, having a longer reaching attack means the Spearman can get across the board faster than many other minions, able to take a piece and then threaten a piece that was previously four spaces away. Weakness: Many of the Spearman's strengths are also weaknesses: at the crux of them all, the piece is entirely linear. It can only move within its column, and can only attack within its column. If the majority of the battle for board control is happening somewhere that is a column or two away from one's Spearman, they will not be able to contribute in any way. Additionally, this linear movement and attacking makes the Spearman easy prey for any piece that can attack diagonally, such as Pawns, Basilisks, Militia, Axemen, and FrostMephits. It's also vulnerable to horizontal attackers like the Swordsman and Skeleton. While within its column, the Spearman can outclass most other Minions, if a Minion attacks it from the sides, it is left wide open. Finally, the piece's incredibly limited movement makes it, toward the game's later stages, less and less relevant, as pieces are able to easily maneuver out of its range. Strategy: Upgrades + The ability to move diagonally into another column as the piece's first move gives the Spearman some much needed movement flexibility. It's still restricted to its column after this move, but until said first move, the Spearman can actually threaten three columns simultaneously, making the Spearman+ a less aggressive Minion and instead one that's benefited by waiting until one knows which column is best. ++ With its second level, the Spearman's attacking square becomes a regular movement square. While not increasing its range of attack, this upgrade makes the Spearman much more mobile, able to emulate the initial speed of a Pawn and even retain that speed, allowing it to quickly charge into the enemy's front line. +++ The third level adds a very notable ability: the Spearman can now attack up to three spaces away, which gives it insane offensive abilities that can even let it outmaneuver a Champion if it gets in its column, as well as even beat Archers and Tigers in its lane. It's still restricted to its column, but the threat it can make in that column is immense, and its ability to get to the backline and promote to a Legionary+++ is very real. At a cost of four, though, the price of lower end Champions, the minion will be a drain on the strength of your other units, especially since it still struggles to deal with a lowly Pawn in the adjacent column.